Police Blotter, Week of Feb. 14, 2013

D.W.I. drivers busted
Cops busted a drunk driver near Washington Square Park early on Sun., Feb. 10, after the man hit another car while his blood alcohol content was allegedly more than twice the legal limit.

Officers responded to an accident at the corner of Washington Square South and MacDougal St. around 2:30 a.m., where Maxim Kononchuk, 24, had apparently rear-ended a vehicle with his 2013 BMW. Upon questioning Kononchuk, police said he smelled strongly of alcohol, had bloodshot eyes and was extremely unsteady on his feet. After a breathalyzer test was conducted, he was found to have a B.A.C. of .181 — more than twice the legal limit of .08.

Kononchuk was charged with D.W.I.

And the next day, another man was busted for intoxicated driving — but this time it was pot smoke to blame.

Police stopped Albert Dinkins, 30, at a D.W.I. checkpoint at West Houston and Washington Sts. around 2 a.m., after they smelled a strong marijuana odor emanating from his car window. Dinkins reportedly confessed without much prodding, telling officers, “I smoked a couple of hours ago.” Police also said his eyes were still bloodshot at that time.

In addition to being charged with D.W.I., Dinkins was also slapped with a charge of unauthorized use of a vehicle, because upon further investigation, police learned that the 2012 Chrysler Town Car he was in was actually a Hertz rental car that Dinkins was not presently permitted to drive.

Club pickers
Police nabbed two serial cell-phone snatchers after they got too greedy at a swanky Meatpacking District nightclub early on Fri., Feb. 8.

Jeffree Elusma, 23, and Khadine Charles, 24, allegedly lifted five phones, along with two credit cards, during an hour-long spree at Cielo, a club at 18 Little W. 12th St. After numerous reports of thefts began to circulate throughout the place, the matter was reported to police, and the thieves were picked up outside the club around 3 a.m. Cops said the filched items totaled over $3,000 in value, but the duo was fortunately unable to make any unauthorized charges on the credit cards before being busted.

Elusma and Charles were both charged with grand larceny.

Turnstile jumper
Cops had to wrangle a turnstile jumper at the W. Fourth St. subway station early on Feb. 11, after he frantically tried to fight off an arrest.

An officer saw Rudolph Downing, 50, jump the turnstile around 4 a.m., and, after apprehending him, found that Downing already had a warrant out for a previous violation. But when the officer turned to slap the cuffs on him, Downing reportedly began to flail his arms and attempt to push the policeman away, while loudly cursing at him and creating a general disturbance.

After he was eventually subdued, Downing was charged with resisting arrest, along with farebeating. A Sixth Precinct source later said that Downing is “one of our regular Washington Square Park guys,” adding that he has been arrested in that area at least 50 times.

Where there’s smoke…
Police said they spotted Paul Carlson, 23, holding a lit marijuana joint on W. 10th St., near Fifth Ave., around 7 p.m. on Feb. 6. But when they approached to question him, Carlson reportedly threw the joint away where the officers couldn’t recover it.

However, Carlson was in fact found to be in possession of three other alleged joints, as well as an open bottle of Jameson whiskey and a gravity knife.

He was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana, drinking in public, criminal possession of a weapon and tampering with physical evidence — the last charge resulting from Carlson’s decision to hide the original joint.

Failed phone getaway
Two phone thieves were caught trying to make their getaway from the Meatpacking District early on Thurs., Feb. 7, but they ended up getting hit with some extra charges once police tracked them down.

Ali Facaci, 28, grabbed a cell phone out of another man’s hand on W. 13th St. near Ninth Ave. around 2:45 a.m., and then jumped into a truck driven by Aboudou Gassama, 29, police said. The duo probably thought they had it made, but they were soon pulled over by a police cruiser.

Police recovered the stolen phone after Facaci threw it out the truck’s window in an attempt to hide the evidence. Upon further investigation, officers also found him to be in possession of a bag of alleged marijuana. And Gassama was found to be driving with a suspended license.

In addition to the pot and suspended licenses charges, both Facaci and Gassama were charged with grand larceny.

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